Lake Riviera Dams to be Replaced

Brick will spend about $1.5 million – half of which will be funded by the state – to replace two dams in Lake Riviera.

The move was approved at the Nov. 22 township council meeting, which will allow Marlin Construction Services of Jackson to begin performing the work to replace the Lake Riviera Dam and the Rainblow Lake Dam, both of which control the water level of Lake Riviera as it flows to Kettle Creek.

The dams are not necessarily in disrepair, said Business Administrator Scott Pezarras, but the state is requiring that Brick replace them because they are "earthened" dams. Pezarras said after major floods hit the state about seven years ago, a study was ordered to be completed on all of the state's dams, and earthened dams were placed high on a list of priorities.

The remainder of the cost of the project after the $700,000 from the state will be paid for under the township's capital budget, Pezarras said. Township officials are also negotiating over the price of easements that will be required for the new dams.

"We're in the process of negotiating those easements now," Pezarras said.

The dams themselves control the flow of water in the tidal lake, which eventually runs to Kettle Creek which, in turn, runs to Barnegat Bay. One of the dams controls the water level in a spillway behind an apartment complex on Brick Boulevard which backs up the lake, and another control the water which flows under Brick Boulevard.